SP Bancorp (SPBC) in Plano, Texas, has applied for a state bank charter.
The $300 million-asset company's SharePlus Bank is currently chartered as a federal thrift. SP Bancorp said Thursday that it expects "increased regulatory and legal expenses" during the third and fourth quarters as it pursues the charter change.
"We believe that in the long run, the limitations of the thrift charter could ultimately hamper our growth and the change to a state-chartered bank is more conducive to our strategic objectives," Jeff Weaver, the company's president and chief executive, said in a press release.
Separately, the company said it is seeking regulatory approval to expand the size of its board so it can add Randy Sloan, chief information officer of Southwest Airlines.
"We … believe the bank will greatly benefit from [Sloan's] expertise," Paul Zmigrosky, SP Bancorp's chairman, said in the release. "Since our initial public offering in 2010, we have fortified our board … with significant experience in critical areas, including human resources, commercial real estate, and now technology. We believe the business acumen and functional knowledge of our board will continue to serve the bank well as we pursue our ongoing growth strategy."
